.22 Rimfire - Short - Long - Long Rifle

[Carl N. Brown]

Back when I was a kid in the 60's I bought the best I could afford, usually shorts and longs, only long rifle for special occasions. There was a price difference of about .10 between shorts and longs and .10 more for long rifle.

I remember in 1960 that on an allowance of $2 a week, I could go to the Rialto for a double bill of "Attack of the Killer Shrews" and "The Giant Gila Monster", popcorn, coke, Resse's cups, and after the movie pick up a copy of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" at the newstand. I did a little checking recently and a dollar in 1960, adjusted for inflation, had the buying power of about $7.50 in 2010. A lot of my complaining about the price of decent .22 ammo today needs mental adjustment for inflation.

Economy of mass production, demand and distribution since then have made the long rifle usually cheaper than short or long. It seems Short and Long are made today mainly for the guns that still exist that were .22 short or .22 long only. A lot of shooting gallery guns were .22 short only--pumps, bottom ejecting Remington semi-autos, and a few Nylon 66.

I have seen a few models of rifles listed in catalogs as .22 long only; in some pumps there was not a magazine cut-off, so they fed only the round the cartridge lifter was designed for, Short or Long or Long Rifle.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s I do recall that a few folks would shoot the .22 long in their S, L, LR rifles as a cheap practice or short range load rather than use shorts to avoid building up a ring of fouling in the chamber that might interfer with chambering long rifle.

Here for what it is worth is a table I build (still under construction) on the development of .22 rimfire cartridges.

.22 Rimfire Timeline

     Heeled 
Year Cartridge   Case  Bullet  Overall   Description
1845 BB          .284"  20 GR   .343"  Flobert Bullet Breech cap round ball
1857 Short       .423"  29 gr   .686"  Smith & Wesson cartridge #1
1871 Long        .595"  29 gr   .798"  ¨Frank Wesson?
1880 Extra Long  .750"  40 gr  1.160"  ¨?
1887 Long Rifle  .595"  40 gr   .985"  J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co
1888 CB          .284"  20 gr   ----   Conical Bullet version of BB*
1975 CCI Stinger .710"  32 gr   .985"  almost extra long case, semi-S bullet
---- Aguila SSS  .423"  60 gr   .985"  Short case, Long Rifle overall length

Frank Wesson I believe was a rifle maker.

The original BB Cap was a rimmed musket cap with a round ball used in single shot guns. I think the Germans called them Zimmerpatrone or room cartridges for indoor target practice. Those were primer-power only, and most Flobert guns I have seen (mostly in photos) were breechloading single shots. When the CB idea was resurrected, the manufacturers elected to use the short and long case so the cartridges could be used in magazine fed repeaters.

When old timers told me about using a .22 Extra Long, I wondered about their memory. But there was an .22 EL cartridge, that added more black powder and a heavier bullet than the Long. The guns also would chamber and fire .22 S and L. Then Stevens got the idea of topping a Long case with the .22 EL 40 grain bullet to make a Long Rifle cartridge, which made the Extra Long obsolete in a few generations.

My .22 LR Remington Nylon 66 feeds, fires and ejects the 60 gr Aguila SSS perfectly. Other .22 Long Rifle semi-autos I own don't always eject the short case used with the SSS.

 

[Chris-bob]

I remember in 1960 that on an allowance of $2 a week, I could go to the Rialto for a double bill of "Attack of the Killer Shrews" and "The Giant Gila Monster", popcorn, coke, Resse's cups, and after the movie pick up a copy of "Famous Monsters of Filmland" at the newstand. I did a little checking recently and a dollar in 1960, adjusted for inflation, had the buying power of about $7.50 in 2010. A lot of my complaining about the price of decent .22 ammo today needs mental adjustment for inflation.

That right there shows that it isn't just inflation, but the price of goods as well. In 2010 you would not have the same afternoon with your $7.50.

 

[12many]

That and I don't think wages for the average wage earner have kept up with other price increases.

 

[Cee Zee]

When the turkeys were introduced here, the quail became history a few short years later.

That could well be but in my area we didn't have either for about 25 years. After the quail were hunted out it was at least 25 years before I saw a turkey. For a while turkey were very thick but they have been cut back now too. I think the coyotes and the bears are killing them just like they are the deer. We had way too many deer for a long time. They brought in coyotes to try to control them but it didn't work so they brought in bear. That did work.

 

[22-rimfire]

I remember in 1960 that on an allowance of $2 a week...

You must have had generous parents. I got $0.50/week and often my Dad didn't even have the money to pay that. $0.50 equates to about a box of shorts a week.

 

[dab102999]

I use shorts for squirrel hunting from time to time. But I haven't seen a .22 long since the 1960s.

Stopped by a local store last night and he had 100 round CCI's for just over $8. My boy is having issues with his higgens and I thought all that 20 year old 22 ammo might be the culpret so I bought a couple boxs. When I got home it was 22 long and not LR. Actually took me a couple minutes looking at it to tell the difference, been so long since I have seen any. Also have been seeing lots of 22 Short lately also.

 

[bracer]

Back in 1949 when I was given my first rifle ,a Rem 121 pump rifle I tried out a box of 22 Short ammo. Since then I only get 22 LR ammo brands that are accurate in my rifles.